forward. >> clever. thanks, alison kosik. thanks, everybody, for watching newsroom. i'll be back in another hour. michael holmes will take the baton and start you off with "newsroom international." michael? hello, everyone. welcome to newsroom international. i'm michael holmes. i'm sitting in for suzanne malveaux today. we will take you around the world in 60 minutes, as we do every day. all right. let's start with this. i take responsibility, that's what secretary of state hillary clinton is saying about the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, the september 11 attack left four americans dead, including the u.s. ambassador. cnn foreign affairs reporter broke the story with an exclusive interview during the secretary's trip to peru.

>> i take responsibility. i'm in charge of the state department, 60,000 plus people all over the world, 275 post, the president and the vice president certainly wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. in the wake of an attack like this, in the fog of war, there's always going to be confusion, and i think it is absolutely fair to say that everyone had the same intelligence. everyone who -- >> bad intelligence, it seems. >> everyone who spoke tried to give the information as they had. as time has gone on, the information has changed. we've gotten more detail. but that's not surprising. that always happens. and what i want to avoid is some kind of political got ya or blame game going on. >> and we have just got word into the president on this as well in tonight's debate, as you'll see, he is keeping his thoughts about libya to himself.

have a listen to this. >> mr. president, are you ready for tonight? how are you feeling about tonight? >> i feel fabulous. look at this beautiful day. >> what are you going to say? >> gorgeous. hope you enjoy the weather. >> are you aware michelle voted for you yesterday? >> thank goodness. >> hillary to blame for benghazi? >> not biting there, as you might imagine. high-ranking republicans disagreeing with secretary clinton. three members of the senate armed services committee shot off a statement, john mccain, along with senators lindsey graham and kelly yayotte. if the president was not aware of the rising threat level in benghazi, then we have lost confidence in his national security team. the security of americans serving in our nation everywhere in the world is ultimately the job of the commander in chief.

the buck stops there. well, all of this back and forth over the libya attack come as head of the second presidential debate. is this helping or hurting president obama? with the debate now hour as way, white house correspondent dan lothian and political editor paul stein house joins us from the debate site at hofstra university. candy crowley is moderating debate. dan, let's start with you if we can. does the campaign think this is taking the pressure off the white house? will the timing of the clinton statement add to the controversy? do voters care about this issue? >> reporter: well it just might add to the controversy, because, yes, i mean, critics will look at the timing of all of this over the last several days, the white house has been making the case that there is sort of this separation between what the white house knows about on these issues and what the state department is in charge of. jay carney making it clear, at the end of last week, the

decisions on security issues, security matters, consulates and embassies around the world that falls under the portfolio of the state department and it's something that the white house would not know about in terms of every move. and so this sort of backs that up. for the critics going after the obama administration saying that they've dropped the ball on libya, i don't think that's going to take care of this. as you pointed out a while ago the president did not answer a question on this but that will come up tonight in some form and the president will have to deal with it. >> paul steinhauser, let's bring you in. the town hall format, questions from voters themselves and it makes it harder for the president to be aggressive with mitt romney. what are the things to look out for tonight? >> exactly. something dan and i were talking about. the president has to tiptoe between being aggressive and play together audience. that's the first of the five things we're looking at, playing to the audience, connecting with the audience. a different debate than it was two weeks ago. the candidate who connects with the audience will connect better with the audience at home and

probably win the debate. another thing, how aggressive is president obama going to be? a fighter like joe biden or not? that is a tightrope he's got to walk. women's issues. this is crucial as well. abortion, contraception, child care, issues that did not come up in the first debate, will they come up tonight? a very good chance. new polls indicate the gender gap, the president's advantage with women, is dissipating. a strong performance pays off when it comes to campaign cash. both candidates have a lot on the line, not only with voters but need to raise remaining money to get through the stretch of the last three weeks. listen, the wild card here, this is an audience asking questions. so we could get questioned that maybe neither candidate thought about and that's something to you know the candidates are going to be on edge. finally take a look at the latest polls here. cnn poll of polls, dead even when you average the national polls. the same thing in the states. i think that makes it even more at stake now because of the

tight polls. >> reporter: going into the last debate, everyone was expecting president obama would do well. the big question was, how will mitt romney perform? it's much more different dynamic going into this one. everyone's saying this is make or break for the president. >> yeah. gentlemen, thank you very much. required viewing, dan lothian and paul steinhauser, you'll be watch, i know. watch the debate here on cnn, of course. it is the town hall presidential debate this evening moderated by cnn's candy crowley. our special live coverage begins at 7:00 eastern. now we've got an update on the pakistani girl shot in the head by the taliban. it's been about 24 hours now since malala yousufzai arrived at a british hospital. the medical director says doctors are impressed by the girl's resilience and strength but she still has a long way to go. today marks one week since a taliban government ordered malala's school bus, called out her name, fired three shots at

her for being an advocate for girl's education. dan rivers is outside the hospital where the 14-year-old is being treated. >> reporter: we're told that malala spent a comfortable night here at the queen elizabeth hospital, her condition is now described as stable. there's not really that much more that doctors are saying specifically about her condition other than she's undergone already initial assessment from a number of teams here to work out what they need to do. one of the first processes that she'll go through is an mri c.a.t. zoscan reproduction. dr. david rosser is the medical director. he was upbeat about her future. >> malala's had a comfortable night. initial assessments undertaken by the neurocourasurgical membe

staff. we have details assessments to teams involved down the line. we're pleased with the progress she's made so far. showing every sign of being just every bit as strong as we've been led to believe that she is. >> he also told reporters that overnight there were a couple of irritating incidents where people tried to get access to malala. now, initially he said those people were arrested. the people were saying they weren't arrested they were well-wishers trying to deliver flowers. it's highlighted the jitters about her security extra police have been deployed around the hospital here because the threat from the taliban remains. the taliban who have already once shot her at pointblank rank. miraculously she's survived that shooting and will face many months of treatment in the uk. dan rivers. pakistan itself the pressure on to find those sporesponsibler

the shooting, the interior ministry says there's a big bounty on the head of the taliban spokeman who initially claimed responsibility for trying to kill malala. >> today i'm announcing $1 million as bounty on his head which is more than, you know, 100 million apiece because we want to definitely get him. and all of our intelligence agencies are hunting those involved. i have some of the names i would not like to mention on record because it may damage the investigation. but let me show my pakistani nation and the world that we will get them very soon. >> remains to be seen. dan pointed out earlier, the taliban, of course, threatening to target malala again if she does survive this ordeal. just ahead on "newsroom

international" -- cubans have endured strict travel procedures for half a century now. but making a trip abroad just got a little easier. >> i recognize a big bond fan. just that confidence he had. i introduced myself. >> duran duran's john taylor talks to becky anderson about his band's famous bond theme "view to a kill." gary mackinnon admit head broke into computers at nasa and the pentagon. he's not tried in the u.s. after all. ♪

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wells fargo. together we'll go far. [ male announcer ] unisom helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep. so i wake up rested. [ male announcer ] unisom. fall asleep faster. sleep longer. welcome back, everyone. he's on trial for war crimes and genocide, among other things and former bosnian serb leader is defending himself. he's accused in a 1995 massacre that left about 8,000 muslim men and boys dead. that violence happened during the breakup of the former yugoslavia back in the 1990s.

today karadzic tried to sell himself as a humanitarian and said he should be reward for all of the good things he's done. >> everybody who knows me know that i'm not an awe though krat, i'm not aggressive, i'm not intolera intolerant. on the contrary, i'm a mild man, a tolerant man with great capacity to understand others. but it is true that i was strict towards myself and others in implementing democratic decisions. >> many in the public gallery disagreeing with that assessment. because the court can't impose the death penalty, karadzic will face life in prison if convicted. this could go on for years. the british government blocking the extra decision of computer hacker gary mackinnon

to the united states. the britain's home secretary says he could commit suicide if he is extradited because he suffers from as perger syndrome and depression. a admit his broke into computer as nasa and the pentagon. he was trying to find out if the government was covering up existence of ufos. being tried to avoid this for ten years. a big deal for u.s. authorities pop potential fallout? >> reporter: the u.s. did say in the aftermath of september 11th they believe mckinnon caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. he maintains hess was looking for evidence of green men. whatever the truth of that case is, what can't be contested, that is the british home secretary's decision to block his extra decision is hugely popular here. it's being seen as a courageous

resetting of the u.s./uk special relationship to more equal footing. take a listen to what gary mckinnon's mother had to say. >> i want to say thank you, it was an incredibly brave decision to stand up to another nation as strong and powerful as america. it's rare. she had the guts to do it. i always felt she had the strength to come through and do this and to also change the extra decision treaty to bring in forum so this hopefully wouldn't happen to anyone else. it's absolutely incredible. >> of course, they have not blocked the extradition. she's put in place amendments to uk law that would allow british courts to block any new extra decision requests if they believe that justice could be served in the united kingdom. >> an interesting angle here. all of this comes after the

terror suspect al hamza and others were extradited to the u.s. to face charges. they also claimed health problems. tell us about that. one of them in particular. >> reporter: well, one of the terror suspects extradited al hamza himself suffering. the muslim campaign pointing out no home office committee in place to question whether he was a suicide risk. already this is causing a lot of waves here, that why this case in particular. mckinnon is an easier sell and it's difficult to argue against a troubled genius who is looking after something that most people would find comical evidence of little green men versus terror suspects who have been wanted in the u.s. for quite a long time. so people already starting to question quite how courageous this decision was on the part of the government. but it is still a pretty big deal. this was the last of the bush/blair legacies when they

were teamed up together on the war on terror. the extra decision treaty was unpopular when put in place. nobody's here complaining that it will have been rescinded. but there are concern business muslim groups that the message is being sent that mckinnon is more valuable, more equal in front of the law than british muslim citizens are. >> as always, thanks. now you would think that being the first woman to moderate a presidential debate in more than 20 years might be a bit nerve-racking. >> what am i feeling? i'm feeling like sort of ever calm, strangely. >> more from our own candy crowley on tonight's big debate. ? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma

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it just got a little easier for cubans to travel outside of the country right on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the cuban missile crisis we told you about yesterday, raoul castro said two of the biggest travel hurdles are being removed. patrick, the biggest is the exit

visa, an exodus? >> reporter: you know, that's -- we've been hearing about this for so long. cubans have hoped for this change. hope ford what they they call the white card the exit visa, incredibly expensive, complicated process to leave their country even for short trips outside to visit family member. there are a million cubans outside of cuba. this comes down to family. it's becoming easier for cuban-americans to visit families here on the island but it remains very difficult until the day for cubans to leave their own country. so starting some of the requirements are going to be removed. what we're talking about is hundreds of dollars for some of the permits. we're talking about months and months of waiting for approvals. that will ago away. for lots of people but not

everyone, michael. the cuban government said people they've invested in, people like doctors, perhaps, people like engineers, they made an investment in the people. there might be a slightly different process for them. we haven't heard how that's going to work out. some of the many government critics who over the years complained they're not allowed to leave conferences are going it places where they might direct criticism back from outside the country at their own government. whether they'll be allowed to leave as well some of the people have spent years here. being told they can't leave cuba. we haven't heard if this will apply. it's going to apply to many but not everyone. >> how do you think it's going to be received in cuban-american communities? miami, for example? >> reporter: you know, you still need a u.s. visa, if you're cuban, to get one of the u.s. cuba direct flights. whether people go through third countries that there will be more contacts between family

members, people might be able to see family members they haven't seen in years. but least right now it doesn't look like it's that echo does that we saw on the 1990s crisis but more people will be traveling, michael. >> patrick, good to see you. patrick oppman. one photographer wants to take you out of your comfort zone and bring you a place americans don't think about, mali. how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪

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did you know that of the seven billion people living on this earth 1 billion go to bed hungry every night? that's one of the more shocking statistics on world food day. united nations established the day to mobilize people to stop world hunger. asking people share a meal today, look at five ways to

reduce hunger. these are some pictures that folks have been sending in of their gatherings. people collectively can make a major dent in hunger by following what's called the grow method. we'll gheet thet into what that and how to help in a bit. focus on mali, west africa, in the middle of a perfect storm of tragedies. warning of a deepening hunger and humanitarian crisis there. mali, as you may have seen on this program, has been going through three droughts this past decade and islamist militant groups ousting the president earlier this year, plunging the country into chaos. basic services like health centers, water collection areas and schools have completely stopped functioning in parts of country. photographs taken by the international rescue committee. peter, you travel globally for the iic as senior communications officer, taking photographs and

reporting on humanitarian crises. how serious is the mali crisis? >> well, it's a very serious crisis. it's what you call a slow burning emergency. as you mentioned they've seen three major droughts since 2005 and people tell me this is the worst they have seen in the last decade. overall, you are talking about 19 million people who have daily troubles finding food, who go to bed hungry every day. and on top of that you have 1 million children who are acutely malnourished who struggle with life-threatening malnutrition. >> i want to talk about some specific photos. but as we do, i mean we've got one of a small child you wrote

about for cnn personal, malnourished, without her mother. tell us who this child is and what happened to her. >> well, this particular girl was taken in by -- into a health facility in a suburb of the capital of mali. it's a very densely populated area with villages surrounding it. so there's a lot of malnourished children coming in right now. we've seen a surge. and this particular girl was called jebodia. she was 16 months old. when she came in, he was on the dri brink of death. undernourished. she had hair loss. she had fluid retention, fluid retention under her skin, panting, very, very sick. and only after a few days she started to get better.

my colleagues from the international rescue committee and health staff gave her 45 peanut paste which is given to children in this state, milk. another problem is that children who weighed only 9 pounds, 4 kilograms at 16 months, that's shocking, they're prone to diseases and other infections because their immune system is so weak. i talked to her mother and she said that they hadn't seen food much in the past month. basically run out in her village a month ago. and -- >> peter -- i will interrupt you so we can get through more of the photographs. while we do, i want you to talk to me about the politics. mali's got a situation where there was a military coup, the government fell, islamist rebels took observe the north of the country. after the disaster how much is the political instability along with natural disasters of

drought and the like playing into this? what's being done to help these kids? >> well, obviously it's a huge problem because, as you said, north is divided from the south. and the north is controlled by a grouping of islamists, militants, some with ties to al qaeda. this prompted a max exodus. people fled from this area, 300,000 people. obviously that puts a lot of strain, 200,000 have left the country and live in other neighboring countries that also face food crisis. also straining already meager resources of these countries. another problem that is health staff have fled hospitals. so a lot of the life-saving interventions cannot be carried out in the north. >> peter, thanks so much.

great work that you and the international rescue committee do. peter joining us bangkok. what can you do on world food day to make a difference? it's called the grow method. cut down on the amount of food you waste in your fridge by planning your meals, saving leftovers as well. oxfam says a third of all food produced worldwide is wasted. try to buy fruit and vegetables in season. a lot of energy's wasted trying to grow food in the wrong place at the wrong time of year. another one, eat less meat, less dairy as well. cows consume pressure natural resources. they require more land than fruit and vegetables do. and try to buy from small-scale food producers. 1.5 billion people live on small farms worldwide. 70% of people who go hungry live in rural areas where agriculture

is the main economic engine. all right. as we've been say, our own candy crowley sharing the spotlight with president obama and mitt romney in tonight's debate. she compares moderating tonight's debate to her competitive swimming years. she says it's all in the stroke when we come back. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts, more events, more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with the citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

both president obama and mitt romney are en route at this thundershower hempstead, new york fork tonight's debate. let's have a look. on left president obama when he left williamsburg, virginia this morning. on the right, a look at mr. romney when he left bedford, massachusetts. just a few minutes ago actually. he's expected to arrive in new york. we're hour as way as we've been saying from tonight's presidential debate. president obama, mitt romney, squaring off at hofstra university on new york's long island.

the debate will follow a town hall style format, candidates takiing questions from the audience on domestic, foreign policy issues. it's pretty open. the audience made up of undecided voters choeszen by the gallup organization and the debate moderator, we keep bragging about, our own candy crowley. she talked with kyra phillips whether she's feeling pressure as well as how the town hall will work. >> reporter: here's the format. there are town hall people around. we have selected the questions previously. il s i'll see them tuesday morning. we'll call on alice, alice will stand up, ask a question, both candidates will answer and there's time for a follow-up question, facilitating a discussion, whatever you call it to kind of go. if alice asks oranges and someone answers apples, there's time to go alice asked oranges, what's the answer to that? or will you say this but what

about that? it's clearly -- the rules are everywhere and there's time within the segment for each question for facilitating conversation. >> so you know, what do you make of this criticism? obviously i've known you for more than then years, i know you've got the best reputation in the business. now you're getting a little heat here for what you said. what's your reaction to that? >> reporter: my reaction is, we're so close to an election and the laekelection is so closd people around these two men that push every button they can to try to get an advantage. and so you know, i understand this, the stakes are enormous. and so this is what campaigns do. they push and shove and pull, and if it's moderators become a part of that ever more and you know society, you know, over the past, you know couple of election cycles, so it's just a part of it. but in the end, i think you'll just sort of look at these debates as a continuum and

people can judge all of the debates the way they want in the end. >> this could be for all the marbles. this debate could decide which way this election goes. not to put pressure on you, candy. i have to ask you -- >> reporter: no pressure here. >> are you feeling it? if so, give me some of your heart. tell me what's going through your mind. >> reporter: i don't feel as though the election is up to the tuesday night debate. i think there are many days that can push things, i think when you look back at campaigns you can look at moments that changed things or moments that began to build things. but i don't think we'll look back and go, boy, that second debate is what did it. what am i feeling? i'm feeling like ever calm, strangely. i think this will be fine. i -- you know, i believe once i get out there, you know, kara, i used to swim competitively in high school and college and you are always nervous up on the

starting block and the minute you hit the water, all you did was swim. i'm going to swim. >> candy crowley and kyra philips there. watch the debate here on cnn. the town hall presidential debate tonight moderated by candy crowley. live coverage begins at 7:00 eastern. well they were lured in with promises of food and shelter. they ended up abused and exploited by a brutal guerrilla group in the jungles of colombia. in. antwo pis. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ [ female announcer ] and try aleve for relief from tough headaches. [ female announcer ] and try aleve you see us, at the start of the day.

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it is possible that latin america's oldest insurgency could be ending. peace talk allowed last month between the colombian government and marxist rebels are expected to take place this week in norway. this is the fourth attempt at reaching a deal and it is already off to a bit a delayed start, actually, due to what's

being described as logistical difficulties. both sides apparently believe that victory on the battlefield is impossible after 50 years, half a century, of fighting. the rebel group, you probably heard known as farc, latin america's oldest and largest guerilla army made up of the rural poor. now farc has been fighting since 1964 for rights such as land reform. they financed the war through drug trafficking and kidnappings and known for launching deadly hit-and-run attacks. well, children have been the most vulnerable victims of farc. the group has forced thousands of colombian kids to become child soldiers or sex slaves. a look at the horrors of that practice. >> reporter: this girl is only in her early 20s but already, she says, she's been to hell and

back. >> translator: sadly, i can say when i was 11 years old i was raped by farc guerillas and 11 years abused and exploited by them. >> reporter: her story may not be unique. the video confiscated in 2006 by the colombian army shows a large group of children being trained as guerilla warriors, a practice that has grown dramatically. na talia springer dean of the law school in colombia. in the last four years 18,000 children have been forced to join guerilla groups in paramilitaries in colombia. some kidnapped, others lured to the groups by the prospect of food and shelt. >> we have a human emergency in colombia regarding recruitment of children. it's a serious situation. >> reporter: the findings of the study called like lambs among wolf are childrening. springer found 69% of those captured 14 or younger, some as

young as 8. 98% reported they were abused or witnessed atrocities. what do they do for these groups? >> they are basically installing mines, land mines. they are transporting explosives. they are kidnapping. they are basically involved in all of the activities adults are doing. >> reporter: springer says her team noticed an alarming new trend whereas in the past the vast majority of children cam t t kaup ture by the armed groups were boys. the girls has increased to 43%. in addition to combat activities, springer says girls are subjected to sexual servitude. >> for them it's a duty to sexually serve their commanders. so by serving the commanders, he they identified number of activities that for them were humiliating and for them were difficult to accept. >> reporter: the colombian government does not dispute that

children are being recruited in large numbers, but questions the study's statistics. >> translator: we the, government have doubts regarding 18,000 kids. we believe sources should be double collect because statistics should be less than that. in any case it continues to be a problem. >> reporter: most of the children recruited are i illiterate and indigenous colombians are vulnerable. the survivor says she thinks about the children who didn't make it. >> translator: we were a group of 300 children and only 12 of us were lucky enough to survive. 300 children subjected to all kinds of abuses by the guerilla. >> reporter: the rest succumbed to disease or died in combat. many silenceded by land mines or their own commander. rafael romo, cnn. citracal slorelease

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as we count down to the premiere of the new james bond film, british singer adele is watching her theme song for sky 4 race up the musical charts. have a listen. ♪ the sky crumbles we will stand tall ♪ zbloet sounds bondish, doesn't it? the song hit a high of two, cracked the top ten in the u.s. one bond themed song has every topped the charts. that's surprising, maybe. duran duran's "view to a kill" back in 1985. yes, you do remember it, don't you? becky anderson met the band's co-founder john taylor and asked him about the moment that he became part of bond history. ♪

>> remind me how you got involved with bond. >> i had gone to a party at langon's the end of wimbledon week. i recognized cubby, i was a big bond fan. and you know, that just confidence of youth i went over to him and said, introduced myself and said, when are you going to have a decent theme song again. >> did you really say that? >> he said, you want to do it? so we -- so he invited me to his office in mayfair the next day and got me on the phone with john berry and, you know, it was just one of those amazing deals, you know? ♪ a chance to die dance into the fire♪ >> what did you think the franchise continues to excite people 50 years on? >> gore, he's one of the great -- he's one of the great action heros, isn't he? hess like sherlock holmes.

certainly guys we see a little bit of james bond in all of us, just a little bit. >> equal duran duran is still exciting fans 30 years on. and now, john taylor is telling the story of the band's rise to stardom in his autobiography. >> i was a nerdy kid at school. i was nigel. i was like clark kent. one of the clark kent/superman moments. within a year i think i changed my name, you know, stopped wearing the glasses, you know. i was like the least likely to kid at school. >> i want to just relate for our viewers some of what you've written in the book. and i quote you. i'm a pinup on thousands of bedroom walls but the fear of loneliness is turning me into a coke head. talk to me what you were doing and how you felt at the time. >> none of us had any clue we

were going to become teen idols. that was, you know, careful what you pray for kind of deal because what that -- it created a popularity contest in the band. it sort of created attention that i was uncomfortable with. plus, plus i just didn't have the off switch the rest of the band had, you know? they knew -- it could be 5:00 in the morning and everybody would know, time to go to bed. i never -- i just didn't have that -- i just didn't have that off switch. i kept going. >> when did you realize how bad things were? >> it was i started to struggle with reality. i mean it wasn't until, you know, almost 20 years ago, actually, that a therapist said, you're an alcoholic and you need to get sober. i was quite glad to have a diagnosis actually because i just thought -- i thought i was feeling bad because i made all of the bad choices. so when somebody says to you, no, no, no, it's not lack of education, it's genetic and you're, you know, it's -- and

there's treatment for it, you know, it was quite a relief, actually. >> what's different these days apart from the obvious, you're 20 years older? >> it's very different. i mean we, you know, we -- the money we used to spend on drugs goes on massage, it's age appropriate, step in the right direction. and technology, obviously, you feel a lot more connected, you know, skype is fantastic. many, many musician's marriages are saved because of skype. >> teenaged fans, a blessing or a curse? >> well a blessing when they're in the concert hall, a curse outside your bedroom window at 6:00 in the morning. >> which they were for you? >> yeah. >> how would you describe john taylor in his 20s? >> very upbeat, optimist. very excitable, easily led. loves his music. >> and in his 50s? >> yeah, much the same. >> hands up all of you who remember when they actually came

into fame. boy, this man retired 50 years ago. yet he has still managed to make it into the guinness book of records. we'll tell you about him when we come back. -[ taste buds ] donuts, donuts! -who are these guys? -oh, that's just my buds. -bacon. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] donuts. how about we try this new kind of fiber one cereal? you think you're going to slip some fiber by us? okay. ♪ fiber one is gonna make you smile. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one nutty clusters and almonds. [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one anncr: every president inherits few have faced so many.

four years later... our enemies have been brought to justice. our heroes are coming home. assembly lines are humming again. there are still challenges to meet. children to educate. a middle class to rebuild. but the last thing we should do is turn back now. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. well, if itmr. margin?margin. don't be modest, bob. you found a better way to pack a bowling ball. that was ups.

and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked a question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows. i'll do that. you're on a roll. that's funny. i wasn't being funny, bob. i know.

just before we leave you, live pictures coming to us from jfk, john f. kennedy airport. you know that is. air force one arriving in new york. marine one is not far away. the helicopter that will take the u.s. president to hofstra university for the big debate tonight against governor mitt romney nap town hall debate moderated by candy crowley, if you didn't know. keep an eye on those pictures. both the governor and the president head to the debate scene at hofstra university. meanwhile, i'm going thand over to "cnn newsroom" with the lovely ashleigh banfield.

thank you, michael holms. welcome to the "cnn newsroom." i'm ashleigh banfield, sitting in for suzanne malveaux. let's get to it debate night in america the sequel. can mitt romney keep up the momentum? can barack obama get back on track? that is what a lot of people are going to be watching to see tonight when these two meet for their second showdown. town hall debate at hofstra university set to be moderated by our on candy crowley. at this hour, reporters and analysts are looking ahead at what's at stake and also what to expect tonight. we're going to have live reports from dana bash with the obama campaign, also jim acosta is covering mitt romney and his team. we're going to get insight on how the female vote is shaping the race from a republican strategist anna navarro and democratic strategist, donna

brazile. we are exactly three weeks away from election day. it is handy to have smart folks to help weigh in on this. the second presidential debate, it will be a lot different from the first one. particularly in terms of the format. and you can bet that president obama's hoping for a different outcome this time around, too. he spoke with reporters a short time ago, actually just as he was leaving virginia, and heading for the debate site where he just landed here in new york, in fact. however, he did not talk about libya although it is almost certain to come up tonight. >> mr. president, are you ready for tonight? how are you feeling about tonight? >> i feel fabulous. look at this beautiful day. >> what are you going to say? >> gorgeous. hope you enjoy the weather. >> are you aware michelle voted for you yesterday? >> thank goodness. >> is hillary to blame for benghazi? >> aha, he hears some questions and does not hear other questions and that is not

unusual. our political director, mark preston, live at the debate site at hofstra university on new york's long island. mark, he just arrived in new york so he's headed your way as we speak on marine one soon. but is this what we just saw a preview of things to come tonight? do we expect the questions coming from the audience are going to be as hard hitting as though reporters yelling from the rope line? >> reporter: well, i don't think we'll hear the audience members refer to secretary clinton as hillary necessarily. i would be surprised if we didn't hear some discussion about benghazi. whether that is brought up by one of the audience members and one of the questioners that will occur behind us, but it could be brought up by mitt romney, his campaign has hit hard on this issue of what happened in benghazi, why the embassies were not adequately staffed when it comes to security and also why the story keeps on changing about what actually happened out there and how they're going to move forward. i'd be very surprised if it's

not brought up. >> so talk to me a little bit about the expectations game. as we were heading into the first presidential debate everybody was trying to lower expectations for their guy. but we had a busy news cycle since then. we've had that debate, a vice presidential debate, the lead up to this debate and i'm not so certain i've been hearing as much of the expectations game being played this time around. >> reporter: well, you know, they have to do an feickive job of telling their plan. they can't be too aggressive. town hall debate style, questions primarily coming from voters themselves, undecided voters picked gi t eed by the g corporation. candidates will be able to walk around the stage, walk up to the questioners as they're answering questions. the expectations game certainly not being played out as high as it was during the first debate. we did hear from mitt romney's son on "piers morgan" talking about his father. take a listen. yeah, i think the format's going to make it tough for anyone to win.

most likely a draw. it's a town hall format the why not go the other way? my dad's going to crush him. >> i did enjoy watching him the last debate. i think it was a chance for america for the first time to tune in for 90 minutes and hear mitt romney you know from his own mouth unplugged. >> there you have tag romney talking to piers morgan, about the expectation, lowering them for his father. the big question tonight, request president obama come in, try to turn things around from really lackluster debate performance two weeks ago and can mitt romney build upon the momentum? look at the pew research poll that came out when voters were asked two weeks ago before the first debate who would do better in the debate. look at how far ahead right there that barack obama was. he had 22-point lead when asked two weeks ago from the american voters. now heading into tonight's debate, mitt romney did so well, look how much that's turned around. more confidence in how mitt

romney will be able to perform tonight. some ways that's not good for mitt romney because a lot is riding on how well he can perform tonight, if he does well, that's quite the momentum going into the final three weeks and president obama will certainly not be liking that very much, no doubt. >> let me ask you a little bit about somebody who become a target quite often in the debates and it's the moderator and it's usually after the debate. our own candy crowley here at cnns moderator and both camps were coming at her pretty tough yesterday about how she's going to handle the question and answer. here's how she addressed it on "the situation room" yesterday. have a listen. >> i'm trying to just know what the facts are, what the positions are so when something comes up that maybe could use a little further explanation might be as the question was oranges and you said apples. how does that fit with the following thing? you try to know and study up on

as much as there is out there, knowing that you know hopefully you're getting close to you know 90% of the knowledge you need, knowing you're only going to use 1% but you don't know which 1% you're going to need. >> mark preston, this tweet from cnn's political gut check caught our eye, jay rosen with nyu, i love this one, it says, wow, the obama and romney campaigns are both upset that candy crowley may commit journalism during tuesday's debate. but be honest with me, explain as best you can why there is this problem. why both campaigns are upset about the possibility of follow-up questions or god forbid a change of the question or redirection of the question. >> reporter: yeah, we should frame this up in this way. this is not a personal attack on candy crowley or any other journalist who is moderating the debate. what this is is about limit liability. when you have both campaigns coming together in a rather extensive agreement about how

they will act in these debates, it says something about them not wanting to get caught in a very bad moment and they both feel that in this town hall format they can be put in a situation they don't want to be. however, that agreement that both campaigns agree to was not agreed by the commissioner of presidential debates or candy crowley. we shouldn't be surprised. it's not a personal attack. it's more about the campaigns trying to control, trying to script as much as they can about the debates. we should say there will be 80 of the questioners that will be available to ask question. they are being held in a sequestered location. like dick cheney was after 2001 attacks. they are being held aside. campaigns don't know who they are. commissioner on presidential debates will not be picking questions. they will be chosen by candy and she'll be allowed to answer follow-up. a lot is much adieu about

nothing other than campaigns trying to control every minute, every second of debate. >> wonder if they have the guys from the oscars carrying out questions in the briefcases. this race is tight. these stakes are high. both president obama and mitt romney trying to sway every voter they possibly can and it is the ladies who could make the difference. i don't know if you saw "usa today" front cover today, an article says that women have helped mitt romney gain an edge. here's the headline. "women push romney into the lead." what's happening? is president obama losing ground among female voters? there were so many in '08. what does that mean three weeks before the election? can he change that? is it done with? joining me to talk about that, two people who know a lot about women, because they are women, republican strategist anna navarro and strategist donna brazile. i'm not going to limit this to the discussion of women but i

want to start there. there's a brand-new gallup poll, mitt romney tied with president obama among women voters. there you have it, within the 4.6 statistical sampling range. if you look at every other recent poll, done around the same time, there's a discrepancy here. the abc news/"the washington post" and the politico/george washington poll has the president up seven points. arg has president up with 11 points. take that for what it's worth. polling ain't the most exact science but we like to think it show a trend. donna, does this show the president's in trouble or does this show there's a blip and i have an idea i know what you're going to say. >> well, let me just say this is someone who managed a presidential campaign, that you can take a look at these polls every which way you can. they often contradict themselves. but the focus should be on what do women voters want? they want a president who will not only continue to fix this

economy so that it heals for all americans, but they also want a president who will be a champion for women's equality. that mean that's want a president who will support issues like equal pay for equal work, they want a president who will allow women to make those personal decisions. i think when you get away from the sauce you see a lot of sauce with mitt romney, he is reinventing himself so many times i don't know what he's serving on his menu. >> talking points of the campaign -- >> i don't -- dear i don't have talking points today because i just got here. >> i just heard three. donna brazile, what do you take me for? 25 years at this job. it's ashlee. >> you should take me as somebody who is running a campaign or two or three. >> i do. exactly why i said let's not go to talking points. i want to get anna in. >> they want issues, not sauce. >> i hear you. >> that's what he's giving, sauce. >> hold on a minute. i'm going to anna.

she's got time here, too. that was a headline i held up on the "usa today" front page because for a lot of people would think, wow, it's over. but it was only one poll, anna. was that something you spike the football with the romney camp or do you realize there are blips in polls? >> really only naive people in politics three weeks to go would spike the football on anything. anything can happen in three weeks. i think we saw debate two weeks ago have changed. women have ears and eyes, too they watch the debate. we've seen the debate has had an effect on every demographic group and degrgeographic area. >> women among every other voter wants issues, want to know what's go on. when you watch them in practice and focus groups they gbehave differently. people say i don't watch car chases and they're glued to car chases. when it comes to how the candidates behave and their

personal life and character it's very important. i want you both to weigh in on this, anna, mitt romney canceled his appearance on "the view" a lot of women watch the view. smart move? >> a lot of people watch the debates. i awas amazed to see 70 million people watched the debate. >> was it a smart move? >> i think it was a good move. but i -- i love the women of" the view" i love the women because they have a political view. he has done "the view" before. we're seeing a softer, more human side of mitt romney. so a lot of the things he achieved by going on to "the view" he's doing on the stump. we're seeing him tell personal stories, getting emotional. it's the first time we've seen him do that during the campaign. >> donna weigh in on that. canceling "the view" after the president wept on "the view" and the president worried about the view because he called whoopee

goldburg sharp tongued in that video. good or bad idea to walk way from that many eyeballs? >> a guy who is going to be tough on iran and china but afraid to go on "the view." that speaks for itself. >> good to see both of you. look forward to more conversations with you in the future. thanks to both of you. >> no talking points from you. >> girlfriend, listen to you. i can't get a word in edge wise. >> i'm coming up to new york and meet you personally on this one, yeah. >> i've been waiting. >> let me tell you something, we're the three ladies of the political view and i'm not missing that conversation. >> i believe have our own coach show. you can watch tonight's debate, it's not nearly as exciting as this conversation, i think but it's moderated by our own candy crowley. starts live right here on cnn at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. okay, here's what we're working on for you this hour. proving that you have got the right to vote. this is an issue that is going all the way to the supreme court

and it could change the course of elections now and in the future. the art of the dodge. we'll tell you what works and what does not work when a politician tries to wrestle away the question and answer something he or she decides instead. also, the all-important undecided voter. they are out there. and there are a lot of them. find out just what exactly it is they're waiting to hear with three weeks left to go. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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with odor free aspercreme. powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. the obama and the romney campaigns are cramming right now, working on style, substance, and the best way to walk away from tonight's debate as the winner. since president obama and mitt romney met at their first debate in denver, the race has gone from a clear advantage for president obama to a dead heat between the two of them. dana bash joins us the debate site live at hofstra university. both candidates spent the last few day prepping and doing everything they can with their support staff to hone their skills, once again. but how are they spending last few hours before the big event? >> reporter: you know, you talk to anybody who has worked with a

candidate on preparing for a debate, they all say that being mentally in the game and that means being mentally relaxed in a few hours, meaning now leading up to debate, that is really key. president obama just got here within the last hour. he did come from virginia whereas you said he did have intense debate camp for three days. our understanding is that he is going to do that. he obviously is still president. he's got some work to do. but beyond that, trying to get his head in the game. when it comes to mitt romney, he got here last night. he did come from boston. and he also had a couple of days of pretty intense debate prep, mock debates with his core group of half a dozen aides. today he's here. he has all five of his grown sons here with him. and i talked to so many people who are involved currently in the process with him and nose who have worked with him in the past and they say that is the most important way for him to get mentally prepared, is to just be around his family as much as possible the day of the

debate. >> let's talk a little bit about the kinds of questions that they'll be preparing for as they gear up for the last few hours. an audience of undecided voters and they're proximate. they can walk up to them and touch them if they want. are they appealing to the people in the room, because that's critical and the camera catches everything, or is their focus, does it pointedly have to be towards the millions, tens of millions who are going to be watching? how do you strike that balance? knowing you must reach the greater masses but you can't ignore that guy in front of you? >> reporter: talking to people who are coaching the candidates have have coached other presidential candidates in the past, what they say is that the key, those who do exceptionally well make the connection with the audience member asking the question and that by nature makes the connection with the person watching at home on television, if you're watching television, somebody's watching

you and me, they know you and i have a connection, we have a rapport. and they get that. that's not unlike what's going to happen behind me in this town hall. one thing that is interesting which i never thought of, republican debate coach told me about, he was aware of this preparing john mccain four years ago, that is there are two audiences inside the debate hall. that could make for some uncomfortable moments if the candidates don't understand that. listen to what he was talking. when you prepare for a town hall, it really gets technical in terms of where the candidate needed to focus. >> sure, absolutely. in the presidential town hall, there's really two audiences, and a third if you count the television audience. but there's the audience that's actually on the set, the 100 or so people surrounding the candidates. what most people don't realize there is another audience watching that town hall debate.

as a candidate you've got make sure that you play to the audience that is on the set rather than the audience that is up above watching the entire event. so it's quite an interesting dynamic. and there have been times where candidates have lost a sense of who the audience really is and i think it causes a disconnect. >> reporter: one example of that was al gore in 2000. you could see, look back at the foot annuaage searching where t in the audience, the fake a audanaud audience, is it audance watching the event. it might be loud all of a sudden. i saw marine -- i believe marine one land not too far from here. the president is very close. >> good to know. thanks for letting us know. quick addition to what dana bash was report, that's 1,000 people in total in that debate hall at hofstra, will be watching ones

mostly asking the questions, which are just a few dozen. so it is a big difference. and of course as dana was mentioning with bret o'donnell there is that massive audience. last debate brought in 70 million people when the two candidates met for their first match. you can't forget that audience and that might be the most critical. as we're listening to marine one landing, that's exciting, too, as it brings itself into the landing pad apparently. a nice landing pad at the university. there we go. nice live pictures for you, as the president's marine one lands. it just came straight from virginia. that's the hempstead landing zone, motorcade will be taking the president from -- isn't it a bummer when a tree blocks the view? hopefully it will move further forward so you might be able to see. no, i don't think so. out of thor. vi purview of the camera. taking the president to the debate hall unless there's a stop in the middle and our folks

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breaking news to bring your way about the election. a few moments ago the supreme court gave the green light to early voting in ohio. this is a big deal. it's been going on for quite a while, too, with a deadline. ohio a key battleground state. the court's decision is an important one and it went in the favor of the obama administration which had sued the state because of some regulations that they had put in place to back off on some of the early voting days, specifically days leading right up to election day. one of those days is a significant day, it's sunday. for african-american churches it's souls to the polls days preachers get congregations out, get them to vote on early days.

some argued not a lot of african-americans might have been going to the polls. let me bring in joe johns to talk about the significance of the ruling. ohio couldn't be more critical the state that had to get the quick ruling from the supreme court. but you need to clear it up because this could still be a problem for people in ohio. they still might not get to go to the polls on those days. can you explain? >> reporter: that's true. what you're talking about is different counties still have the leeway to try to decide what hours are okay, what days are okay for voting. but in the big picture, it's still a big court decision that could have a real impact on the election this november. this time, as you said it is advantage, obama. in a short statement the supreme court decided to allow early voting for everyone in ohio on the last saturday, sunday, and monday before the year's election. an important state like ohio could be a real impact, battle

got started when ohio's republican secretary of state said he would allow early voting on those days only for members of the military and residents living overseas. the obama campaign said everybody, every registered voter in the state should be allowed to vet early not just certain groups. went to court to fight it. they won in ohio and other states, democrats have been fighting changes to voting laws like this because they say democrats are more likely to vote early than republicans. republicans say military voters and families ought to be allowed special voting privileges because of their unique situation. so went back and forth through the appeals courts and here we are. >> to be superclear, this could be complex for those trying to follow every machination in ohio bar military members and families can vote in the last three day before the election, if that policy's allowed to continue in ohio, the supreme court is saying, everybody must be afforded the same right.

thus if ohio decides military families and military members may not vote in those three days, then no one else can either, correct? >> reporter: exactly right. and that's where we are. equal protection kind of question. >> request just quickly, the supreme court has agreed to take up the arizona voi.d. law. the 9th circuit said you can't do this, you can't have there is voter i.d. restriction. the supreme court's decided to do that. that's not going to happen for this election, right, joe? >> reporter: no, no. we have to make difficult raeed. what voters need to show at the polls in order to cast their ballot. the case in arizona that we're talking about now the supreme court has decided to take up is about what's required for voter registration. arizona passed a state initiative proposition 200, you have to show proof of

citizenship in order to vote. federal law requires you to sign a registration form that says you are a united states citizen and you're good to go to vote. the question is whether the state can require more. can a state ask you to show evidence that you're a citizen before you can vote even if the federal law doesn't require it. the law's been sharply criticized by the latino community especially in arizona and the fact that the court has decided to hear it is a bit of a surprise. but the court is not going to decide this until next year and we know that this law is not going to be in effect for the upcoming election this november. >> all right. thanks for clearing all of that up. breaking news out of the supreme court. months of speeches, rallies, promises, political ads and yet a lot of your friends and neighbors out there still don't know what they're going to do on election day. they are the magical undecided. find out what it is they want, what they expect to hear tonight, and whether this second presidential debate's going to

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we know ohio is a key swing state in the election. cnn's latest poll of polls shows just how close the race really is. the president holds a three-point percentage lead over his challenger. for a clue as to how ohio is going to go on november, you might actually look to stark county, where the arrow points. the voters there have chosen the white house winner 6 of the last 7 times. cnn's miguel marquez went there to get the lay of the land in depth. >> reporter: this is stark county, ohio, a front line in this battleground state. it's so close it tracks state and national voting patterns this place buts the bell in bellwether. he has farmed in ohio his whole life. like most people here he takes

politics pretty seriously. may i ask you who you're voting for? >> yes. >> reporter: who? >> i won't tell you. >> reporter: like plan many vaughn is sick of political gridlock. the country's problem, so serious it makes voting more important and tougher than ever. >> a lot of people are hurting big. a lot of people need relief. and i'm not too sure the election's going to give it no mat who are gets elected. >> reporter: stark county has seen the worst of the recession and best of recovery. unemployment shot up to 13% at the height of the great recession. it's now plummets to less than 7. vaughn like stark county and ohio survived by changing. he turned over the business to his kids and son-in-law. he made changes to the old family farm. boy, did he ever. a fourth of the family's yearly income comes from a few weeks in the fall when the farm a marketing winery is transformed into a country fun fair.

>> you have to be diversified enough to weather the storm but you can't be not effective. ohio is number within at practically nothing but exceedingly above average at many, many things. >> reporter: how quickly can one shred a car? >> 30 seconds. >> reporter: he has been in the recycling business for 100 years and is a state -of-the-art scra yard. the boss here, ed. the lifelong democrat, voted obama in 2008. he says this year it's a tougher choice. >> this year i'm an independent voter and looking at the first debate, and very keen on looking at next two debates. >> reporter: a year ago his yard could barely keep up with demand. who months ago he saw orders plummet. a matter of hearing what they want to do or how to accomplish it? >> i would say both in that question. but more importantly, how are

they going to accomplish it with a $16 trillion deficit. >> that was miguel marquez for us in heartville, ohio. if you have been counting the visits, president obama, mitt romney, running mates and wives, have made more than 65 stops in ohio and that is just since june. that's an important state. you might call them artful dodgers. hole titions are experts at avoiding tough questions. a look at how it's done and loss tell you what tools cnn employs that might not let them get away with it. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again.

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all of us serving you. us bank and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well. as both campaigns fine-tune their messageser to for tonight's debate will president obama and mitt romney answer questions they're being asked or will they try to dodge some of the tough ones? that's the focus of an opinion piece on cnn.com today that was

written by todd rogers and michael norton. moderated by our own candy crowley, the audience members are the ones who get to ask the questions. joining me now is michael norton, associate professor at harvard university, and one of the authors. thank you, professor norton, for joining me. how does one stop a candidate from hijacking the question and moving on to something that's easier to answer or more palatable to all of us out there watching tv? >> it turns out that it's very hard and also very easy. so we know that politicians are really, really good at getting asked a question about topic a and very quickly pivoting to answering a question about topic b. we often say that it should be the moderator's responsibility to keep them honest and criticize moderators for not following up but moderators are trying to juggle a lot of tasks moderating a debate. one of the best ways to do it keep politicians honest is one of the simplest ways, simply put

the question on the screen and when viewers can see that the question's still on the screen and the candidate starts veering off topic we can notice they're going off what we asked them to do and it helps them understand when politicians are trying to dodge. >> we're animals that like to listen and we're not good enough at keeping them on point ourselves as we listen to these sometimes fairly lengthy answers? two minutes is a long time on television. if they're veering off topic and don't have the reminder on the screen, that we do have at cnn, might we just forget what the question was in the first place? >> we absolutely do. it just the way conversations work where we like to bounce from top to topic and move along in conversations. you know, quite frankly, it just very, very difficult to keep track of everything in the debate and we're also not only judging candidates on how well they answer questions. we're trying to figure out if we think they're likable, if we think they're smart.

if we think they're good speakers. sometimes those sort of goals that we have when we watch a debate take precedence over just learning whether or not they can answer the questions that they were asked. so we miss sometimes they don't answer these questions. >> let me read a one line from our op-ed piece that stood out. in televised debates moderators must rankle two of the most powerful men in the world whose goal to assert, bloviate and eva evade. with that in mind do we actually give moderators -- not just tonight's every other moderator as well -- do we give them the tools they need to do the appropriate job in try trog get the right conversation out there or is it just too restrictive to have a natural conversation and an honest dialogue? >> you know, i think we saw today with some breaking news that if anything, the campaigns are trying to make sure that moderators are less likely to be able to ask follow-up questions. so we saw a memo released today that shows campaigns are upset

when moderators follow up and prefer, in fact, that moderators are not able to push candidates. so when someone starts to dodge a question, we as viewers want the moderator to push back. politicians and managers do not want moderators to push back because they want candidates to stick to their talking points and make the points they really want to make. >> professor michael norton, thank you. good reading on cnn.com. thanks so much. appreciate your insight today. so this guy is the kicker for the minnesota vikings but he doesn't punt on the tough political questions. now this athlete is getting famous for his stance on same-sex marriage. back from rough economic times. employees are being forced to do more with less. and the need for capable leaders is greater than ever. when you see these problems do you take a step back, or do you want to dive right in?

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outspoken advocate for marriage equality and the kicker for the minnesota vikings. here's cnn's poppy harlow with the story.

>> chris kluwe kicking it away. >> reporter: there is is the chris kluwe most football fans know. and this is the minnesota vikings' punter posing for a prominent gay magazine. what is this fight about for you? >> to me it's about equality and human right. >> reporter: kluwe, who is not gay, isn't coming out. he's speaking out loudly. where would you say this real passion to defend gay marriage came from? >> fact is that there are american citizens who pay taxes who serve in the military who defend the country who are not benefiting under the same legal protections and laws rest of us are. that's flat-out discrimination. that's the same as segregation or suffrage. >> reporter: in a state divided over a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, kluwe's taken his fight to blogs and twitter. >> i will defend death your right to say or do what you want as long as it does not oppress other people. >> reporter: fellow nfl players certainly doesn't all agree with

him but kluwe says attitudes are changing. >> i think there is a very much more tolerant atmosphere in the nfl now. >> reporter: is america ready for an openly gay nfl player? >> i don't know. i think until -- until someone comes out, we never will know. >> reporter: you've tweeted that you've like to debate any minnesota politician on the same-sex marriage issue. >> i'm waiting. >> reporter: still waiting. >> still waiting. >> reporter: it's not just same-sex marriage that gets him riled up. ask about other hot button issues and he goes off. >> citizens united. corporations are not people. look at the current presidential race right now, we're spending over a billion dollars to determine who our president is going to be. and to me that says that money has an overriding influence in our politics right now. >> reporter: on taxes? you would be part of the 1%. >> i am part of the 1%. >> reporter: would you pay higher taxes to help balance the budget. >> i would. as long as i have my couch and

video games, i'm good to go. that's all i need. do you need a diamond encrusted yacht? >> reporter: don't bet on him running for office. he has zero interest. for now, this is his fight. >> it shouldn't be news when someone speaks out for equality. it should be news when someone speaksequality. >> reporter: he's not wild about either candidate, but says he'll vote for president obama, calling him, the less terrible choice. he's not punting this election. poppy harlow, cnn, eden prairie, minnesota. do you remember the obama girl? now there is a ryan girl. and she's going viral online with a sendup of paul ryan's "time" magazine photo shoot. we'll show you the video in a moment. [ lane ] your anti-wrinkle cream is gone...

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saying good-bye to a senate legend, former senator arlen specter is being laid to rest today. pennsylvania's longest servinging u.s. senator was known for his independent streak and for working across the

aisle. arlen specter died after battling cancer. he was 82 years old. former senator and presidential candidate george mcgovern is in a hospice in south dakota today. the 90-year-old mcgovern is best known for his 1972 presidential campaign against richard nixon. but in later years he took up fighting world hunger and was the u.n.'s first global ambassador for hunger. hi there, here on the help desk we're talking about paying down debt before retirement. with me this hour are liz miller and greg mcbride. greg, listen to this question. >> when you're retired, should you get rid of credit card debt or is it okay to have some? >> we all carry credit card debt, come on. >> get rid of that credit card debt regardless of your age it is very high cost debt. don't fall for the mistermisperu have to carry debt for the credit score. use the credit card for a token

purchase every month or so, pay the balance in full, so you can maintain a high credit card score but don't carry any debt. >> it has nothing to do with age. we need to all use credit cards responsibly, no matter the age. the fact you're retiring isn't going to change that. spending habits shouldn't change that dramatically, and if you used a credit card responsibly before, then by all means keep doing it, and, again, your credit score can come from a lot of different sources. i always talk to people about one of the best sources is a well paid off car loan to maintain a good credit score. >> you can prove it that way, right? okay. great. if you have an issue you want our experts to tackle, upload a 30-second video with your help desk question to ireport.com. ally bank. why they have a raise your rate cd.

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remember when the obama girl brought sex appeal to the 2008 campaign? you might call this the republican's version. it's ryan girl. check out the youtube video. let's get fiscal. ♪ let's get fiscal fiscal ♪ ♪ i want to get fiscal ♪ ♪ save social security time to make obama walk ♪ ♪ time to make obama walk ♪ ♪ i've been patient i've been good ♪ ♪ waiting for a time to rain ♪ ♪ it's getting hard ♪ >> not sure, but it looks as though ryan girl is playing on the "time" magazine pictures of paul ryan, pictures of